Community Orchards Boost

Several publications have been launched which could help reverse the national decline in traditional orchards by helping communities who want to start up or save their local orchard.

The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens recently created a supplement to its Community Garden Starter Pack which contains advice and information about setting up a community orchard or fruit garden. This free document is available to download from the publications page of this website.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has also produced a useful community orchards guide, to which FCFCG has contributed, which is part of a series of booklets being produced by Government to cut out red tape and make it easier for people to get the information they need to get involved.

The guide, which is available to download from the DCLG website, outlines what new and existing support and powers are available for communities wanting to conserve or create community orchards. It provides links to expert organisations, information on where to go for funding and examples of communities across the country busy preparing to harvest their latest crop. It also includes details of the new powers in the Localism Bill that will enshrine in law a package of powerful new rights for community and voluntary groups wanting to play a bigger role in their community or takeover and preserve local assets.

Read more: Community Orchards Boost

European City Farms Newsletter

The most recent edition of the European Federation of City Farms newsletter is available to download (in English) with news of the EFCF's AGM, plus examples of good practice and useful websites.

The mission of the European Federation of City Farms (EFCF) is to work with our members through city farming to actively build a future in which their community lives in harmony with nature; by enhancing their local city farm’s and communities natural environment through mainly biodiversity, air, water and soil, and ensuring that the use of renewable resources are sustainable and to minimise pollution and wasteful consumption.

The newsletter is available to download from the FCFCG website, which also has lots of information about European city farms and similar organisations, good practice guides and information for children.

Countryside Week Celebration

New research from The Prince’s Countryside Fund has revealed that British people love the countryside, yet are clueless about its scale and importance to the economy. The survey was conducted for the first ever National Countryside Week (July 11-18) which celebrated the British countryside and the people who take care of it.

City farms and Community gardens are often referred to as green oases that bring a taste of the countryside into urban areas. And their popularity is no surprise – the Countryside Fund survey found that 93 percent of British people value the countryside for relaxation, fresh air and peace and overwhelmingly agreed that it is important to protect the countryside.

Yet at the same time the general public underestimate the value of the countryside to the economy. More than three quarters of those surveyed incorrectly estimated it as less than £1bn – the true figure is more than £80bn. When questioned about what percentage of the UK’s total area is agricultural land, 60 percent thought it was less than half, when it actually makes up 75 percent.

Launched in July last year by HRH The Prince of Wales, The Prince’s Countryside Fund is a unique collaboration of brands and businesses committed to caring for the people who take care of the countryside. To date, the companies involved in The Prince’s Countryside Fund have contributed over £1million and already nearly £500,000 has been given in grants to 13 projects throughout the countryside including the development of 50 new school farms.

For more information on National Countryside Week and the Prince's countryside fund visit: www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/

Donate A Day campaign

Volunteering at city farms and community gardens is being highlighted as part of a new TV campaign launched by ITV breakfast show Daybreak.

Celebrities including Simon Cowell, Pixie Lott and Paul O’Grady are among those pledging their support to Donate a Day, which launched in May.

The initiative will encourage viewers to pledge their time to help a worthy cause or those in need – including voluntary work at a city farm or community garden, which can be a great way to meet people, get involved in a local community project, and to gain new skills and, in some cases, vocational qualifications.

Many FCFCG member groups rely on volunteers, especially those who can give time on a regular basis. People wanting to get involved should contact city farms and community gardens directly to find out what opportunities are available.

As part of Donate A Day the show’s presenters and other members of the Daybreak team will donate their time for various causes.

Read more: Donate A Day campaign

Allotments safe from councils review

FCFCG has welcomed Government assurances that the public right to allotments will be safeguarded as part of a government review of local authority duties.

The aim of the review, according to the Department of Communities and Local Government, is to slash red tape, giving local authorities more freedom from statutory burdens which means they can operate in a way that meets local needs and priorities.

But it led to alarm that the statutory duty of local councils to provide allotments (under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908, Section 23) could be abandoned.

A campaign was launched by the Independent on Sunday newspaper, called Dig for Victory, backed by the National Society for Allotment and Leisure Gardeners and Landshare, the online service which matches food growers with land owners.

However a spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government said:  “We will not remove statutory protections for allotments or any frontline services. However the Government is reviewing old and unnecessary duties imposed on councils in order to free them up from Whitehall red tape and as part of this we have published the full list of duties which includes allotments."

Anyone interested in allotments is being encouraged to give their views on this issue. To find out more visit this Statutory Duties Review page of the CLG website.